Friday Figures: Las Vegas Real Estate Report for 7/23/2010

Thanks for reading Friday Figures! All information from the GLVAR MLS system. Here’s what you really need to know before touring, listing, or making a purchase offer this weekend.

Summary: We’re up to 12960 available units, just under 13,000 and about a 30% increase from the low we set earlier this year. No surprise that prices are under downward pressure. Contingent and pending listings are down, however, and we may eventually work through the huge backlog of contingent short sales one way or another. 600-700 closing properties a week seems to be the “new normal” for a little while, but I do expect more closings this coming week as banks try to clear the July books.

Other Information: Unfortunately, the economy is of great concern going forward. Nevada unemployment is at 14.2% and in the Las Vegas Valley it’s 14.5%. Builders are also nervous about the economy. Home sales are slowing nationwide — which the experts did anticipate after the home buyer tax credit expired. This week has also seen a lot of criticism of how few people have really been helped by the HAMP program — and a few pointing out how little help it is to some of the people who have gotten modifications. There is still some good news to report: mortgage rates are at yet another all time low; many Clark Country residents got lower property tax bills in the mail this week (which may result in budget shortfalls, but that’s another issue); and apartment rents are down. So far I have seen no real drop in rental home prices, partly because those owners have fixed expenses and a slightly different business plan.

Available Listings: There are 10479 single family homes (up), with a median price of $159,950 (down), $84 per square foot (unchanged), with median time on market of 73 days (unchanged). In addition, there are 2476 condominiums and townhouses (up), with a median price of $74,900 (down), $66 per square foot (down), and median time on market of 67 days (unchanged).

Distressed Properties: Of available listings, there are 5650 short sales (up) and 2650 bank-owned properties (up). Median price for a short sale is $128,800 (down); median price on a bank-owned home is $120,000 (down). All short sale listings must be considered at risk of becoming bank owned properties whether they are available or contingent. The 4617 non-distressed properties for sale (up) had a median price of $213,200 (down). While many of the non-distressed properties are traditional sellers, many others were purchased fairly recently as short sale or bank owned, and then renovated by investors.

Single Family Home Prices: Of available listings, 154 under $50,000; 1664 between $50,000-$100,000; 5281 between $100,000-$200,000; 2217 between $200,000-$400,000; 593 between $400,000-$700,000; 248 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 475 over $1,000,000.

Condo and Townhouse Prices: Of available listings, 557 under $50,000; 1265 between $50,000-$100,000; 553 between $100,000-$200,000; 114 between $200,000-$400,000; 22 between $400,000-$700,000; 5 between $700,000-$1,000,000; and 3 over $1,000,000. These figures exclude high-rise communities for technical reasons.

Contingent and Pending listings: Of the 14592 properties in the process of being purchased (down), 11734 are single family homes with median price of $135,000 (unchanged); 2860 are condominiums or townhouses with median price of $65,000 (unchanged). Final negotiated sales prices are confidential until closing. Of the total, 10383 were short sale (down), 2676 were bank owned (down), and 1523 were non-distressed sales (up).

Recently sold: 655 properties closed in the last week, 3790 in the last 30 days, and 23650 so far this year. For properties closed in the last 30 days, median time on market was 27 days (unchanged, time on market including the contingent period was 108 days). Median sales price was $125,000 (unchanged); median list price was $124,997 (down). Short sales accounted for 1250 of them, there were 1574 bank owned properties, and 960 non-distressed sales. The number of short sales closed in the last month is down for a second week; anecdotal evidence suggests that banks are declining some short sales and those homes are going back on the market (or being foreclosed).

Rentals: 3978 homes, townhouses, and condos wereavailable for rent in the Valley in the MLS system (up). Median square footage of these units is 1374 and median rent is $1100. There are 865 contingent leases waiting to be signed and 1965 leases signed in the last 30 days with median rent of $1125 and median square footage of 1521.

Need more information or help with your real estate needs? Call me today at 702-727-7842 or email bmagnus@bridgetmagnus.com. Based on information from the Greater Las Vegas Association of REALTORS Multiple Listing Service for the date specified above. This article was written and copyright by Bridget Magnus, and is her sole property.